November 2, 1778: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (22) writes to his father from Strasbourg, “Kapellmeister (Franz Xaver) Richter (68)...now lives very economically, for instead of forty bottles of wine a day he swills about twenty.” (Marshall, 351)

1900: Given the condemnation of some of the orchestra and all of the critics to Gustav Mahler’s (39) “modification” of Beethoven’s (†72) Symphony no.9, the audience at the second performance receive a lengthy written explanation of his actions by the conductor. It only serves to fuel the controversy.